Halo cloud over Moscow creates UFO buzz

A halo cloud over the Russian capital of Moscow has created a UFO buzz over the Internet.

ByJimmy OrrOctober 14, 2009

A UFO attacking Russia? Nope. A circular cloud in the shape of a halo has some UFO enthusiasts buzzing.

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Finally, indisputable proof of UFOs.

Well... indisputable proof of clouds, anyway. The appearance of a giant circular cloud over the city of Moscow got some dumber UFO enthusiasts buzzing recently.

A large white cloud in the shape of a circle -- or as it's being called a "halo cloud" -- was spotted over the Russian capital last week. Someone decided to take a video of the halo cloud, uploaded it to YouTube and -- voila' -- instant phenomenon.

Grainy and shaky video footage. An "unexplained" hovering circular formation cast against a dreary, gray sky. The female voice of a concerned-sounding Russian newscaster emanating from the car radio.

And on top of all these requisites, there's the obligatory weatherman saying that it's not a UFO, rather it's just a cloud. Sure....

Anyway, it all follows a well-trod path. Video uploaded to YouTube. It gets watched hundreds of thousands of times (soon to be millions). And screaming headlines further the sensation.

Our favorite headline so far comes from the popular tech website, Gizmodo. "Ominous cloud formation has Russians fearing an alien attack," they write.

Of course, when you read the story, they don't mention anything about fearful Russians at all. Instead they acknowledge -- right away -- that it's a cloud. But, you can't resist the headline.

Love the different YouTube descriptions of the same video as well. There's "Stargate Portal Opens Above Moscow!" and "Doomsday sign or UFO? Strange circle in Moscow."

And then there's the report from the Russian media outlet, Russia Today. Are they actually taking this thing seriously? We can't tell. (See video below).

One of the graphics on the screen says "Trick or Treat" but the anchor, in all seriousness, says things like "scientists have rejected claims of UFO activity" and "people have been left baffled by unexplained circular light..."

Well, if anything, reports like this will keep the buzz going. And with only two weeks to go until Halloween, it's only appropriate...